Curved Bath Brush

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a bath brush, and more specifically to a bath brush having a curved portion to aid older people or people of limited flexibility due to surgery or other causes in washing their back or lower body without raising their arms or bending over. The bath brush comprises an elongated member having a straight handle on one end and a curved portion on the other end; and a plurality of bristles surrounding the curved portion forming a cylindrical brush. Due to the large curve, a user can hold the brush in front of them and wash their back without raising their arms. They can also wash their legs and the feet as well without bending over.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/348,965 filed on May 27, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to a bath brush, and more specifically to a bath brush having a curved portion to aid older people or people who have difficulties in washing their back or lower body without raising their arms or bending over.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Most bath brushes have straight handles with a brush at the end so one has to raise the arm(s) in order to wash the back and then bend over to wash the lower legs and the feet. Although a long handle is provided with a brush for facilitating the washing of one's back, the user still needs to raise his or her arms in order to wash the back because the configuration of the bath brush from the handle to the brush is linear. An example of such a bath brush can be found in the expired U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,575 to Petersen (1976). The expired U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,611 to Locher (1976) discloses another example of a brush intended for use in the care and cleaning of the body comprising a brush body shaped linearly and/or curved in order to fit an object to be treated. The expired U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,221 to Edwards (1980) discloses a bath brush having an elongated, continuously curved element terminating in a handle at one end and in a brush arrangement at the other end. Although both patents disclose curved brushes, neither of them is specifically designed for users who have difficulties in raising their arms or bending over. Moreover, the degree of the curvature for the brushes does not allow for such a purpose.

[0006] Existing brushes require individuals to raise their arms to wash the back and then bend over to wash the bottom of the legs. The process of stretching and bending can be extremely dangerous for older people or people who just had surgery. Therefore, there exists an obvious need to have a bath brush that can aid older people or people who are not flexible, or just had surgery in washing their back or feet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a bath brush which is user friendly.

[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide a bath brush which can aid older individuals or individuals whose flexibility is limited due to surgery or other causes in washing their back without raising their arms above the shoulder or washing their legs without bending over.

[0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide a bath brush which is efficient to use.

[0010] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bath brush which helps to decrease accidents during shower, especially for older people.

[0011] It is yet another object of the invention to provide a bath brush which is simple to construct, and inexpensive to manufacture.

[0012] The present invention differs from other bath brushes known in the art in that the present invention has a circular portion of the brush. This new element makes the bathing process easier.

[0013] The bath brush according to the present invention comprises an elongated member having a straight portion forming a handle on one end and a curved portion on the other end; and a plurality of bristles surrounding the curved portion forming a cylindrical brush. The entire brush can be a single piece of molded plastic with a plurality of bristles or a plastic handle and a woven wire center with a plurality of bristles. Other materials suitable for the intended purpose may be used for the handle or the curved portion. The bath brush of the present invention may further comprise a handle grip for easier grasping of the handle. In a preferred embodiment, the bath brush has a straight handle of 10-12 inches long and a curved portion that forms a semi-circle with a diameter of about 20-24 inches. The dimensions of the handle and the curved portion may be varied. If the curved portion is made of wire, it further provides flexibility for adapting to the contour of the human body. If necessary, the wire curved portion may be bent to the desired shape.

[0014] Because of the large curve, users can hold the brush in front of them and wash their back without raising their arms. Then they can hold the brush at a 45 degree angle against the leg and with the curve on the inside and back of the leg at the same time while never lowering their hand below their waist. They can also wash the front of the leg and the feet as well without bending over.

[0015] The bath brush of the present invention makes it easier to wash over 95% of the body without raising one's arms above one's shoulders or lowering them below the waist. The results of the brush would be, less accidents in the shower (especially for older people. As long as there are older people, people in nursing homes and just people that got hurt and need assistance washing themselves there will be a need for this brush.

[0016] The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow.

[0017] Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0018] As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0019] The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred feature of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention and that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference numerals.

[0021] FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a bath brush according to the present invention. FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing an elongated member of the bath brush of FIG. 1A.

[0022] FIG. 2A is a side view of an embodiment showing that the elongated member is circular in shape. FIG. 2B is a fragmentary, exploded top view, showing in details of the end portion of the curved portion with brush bristles.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a bath brush of preferred dimensions.

[0024] FIG. 4 shows an individual using a bath brush of the present invention to wash one's back or legs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1A, there is disclosed a bath brush 1 according to the present invention. The bath brush 1 of the present invention comprises an elongated member 10 having a straight portion forming a handle 20 on one end and a curved portion 30 on the other end (refer to FIG. 1B); and a plurality of bristles 402 surrounding the curved portion 30 forming a cylindrical brush 40 (Referring back to FIG. 1A).

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the elongated member 10 is a single piece of molded plastic including both a handle portion 20 and a curved portion 30. In another embodiment, the elongated member 10 comprises a plastic handle 20 and a woven wire curved portion 30. The handle portion 20 may be made of other materials suitable for the intended purpose including but not limited to wood. The curved portion 30 may be made of other materials suitable for the intended purpose.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 2A for a preferred embodiment where the cross section of the elongated member 10 is circular in shape across the entire length. The handle 20 may be solid while the curved portion 30 may be a hollow tube with a diameter of about a half inch. A plurality of soft bristles 402 (not shown) extending radially outwardly from the tube along the entire length of the curved portion 30 to form a cylindrical brush 40. This curved hollow tube 30 may have holes on the surface where the brush bristles 402 (not shown) may be implanted into. In another embodiment, the curved portion 30 may be solid and may not have holes on the surface; the brush bristles 402 (not shown) are simply attached to the surface of the curved tube 30. The diameter of the handle portion 20 may be larger than that of the curved tube 30 in another embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 2B is a fragmentary, exploded top view of the terminal end of the cylindrical brush 40, showing that the end of the curved tube 30 is surrounded by a plurality of bristles 402. The diameter of the curved tube 30 in this embodiment is about a half an inch.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment with dimensions. The handle 20 is about 10-12 inches long. The curved portion 30 is semicircle in shape having a diameter of about 20-24 inches. The handle may be of other dimensions. The curved portion may be other shapes; the curved portion opening may have different width 304 and/or depth 306.

[0030] The entire brush 1 can be a single piece of molded plastic or a plastic handle 20 with a woven wire center with cylindrical bristles brush 40. The bath brush 1 of the present invention may further comprise a handle grip to secure grasp of the handle. In another embodiment, a cylindrical sponge instead of a plurality of bristles surrounds the curved portion 30 of the elongated member 10.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 4A, there is disclosed a bath brush in operation. Because of the large curve a user can hold the brush in front of them and wash their back without raising their arms. The user puts cylindrical brush 40 over the shoulder and moves the brush 40 across their back by moving and rotating the handle 20 to wash their back. As shown in FIG. 4B, the user may hold the brush 1 at a 45 degree angle against the leg and tilt the brush 1 so that the concave side of cylindrical bristles brush 40 can touch the back of the leg and be moved up and down to clean the legs without the user having to lower their hands below their waste or bend over.

[0032] While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention and not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are entitled.

Claims

1. A bath brush according to the present invention comprises an elongated member having a straight portion forming a handle on one end and a curved portion on the other end; and a plurality of bristles surrounding the curved portion forming a cylindrical brush.

2. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the elongated member is a single piece of molded plastic including both the handle portion and the curved portion.

3. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the elongated member comprises a plastic handle and a woven wire center in the curved portion.

4. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the entire brush can be a single piece of molded plastic with cylindrical bristle brush.

5. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the entire brush can be a plastic handle with a woven wire center with cylindrical bristle brush.

6. The bath brush of claim 5, wherein the wire is flexible and can be adjusted to adapt to the contour of a human body.

7. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the handle may be made of other materials.

8. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the handle is about 10-12 inches long.

9. The bath brush of claim 1, wherein the curved portion is semi-circle in shape having a diameter of about 20-24 inches.

10. A bath brush according to the present invention comprises a single piece molded plastic having a straight portion forming a handle on one end and a semi-circle portion surrounded by a plurality of brush bristles on the other end; wherein the handle portion is about 10-12 inches long and the semi-circle portion having a diameter of about 20-24 inches.

11. A bath sponge according to the present invention comprises an elongated member having a straight portion forming a handle on one end and a curved portion on the other end; and a sponge surrounding the curved portion forming a cylindrical sponge.

12. The bath brush of claim 11, wherein the elongated member is a single piece of molded plastic including both the handle portion and the curved portion.

13. The bath brush of claim 11, wherein the elongated member comprises a plastic handle and a woven wire center in the curved portion.

14. The bath brush of claim 13, wherein the wire is flexible and can be adjusted to adapt to the contour of a human body.

15. The bath brush of claim 1 further comprises a handle grip for easy grasping of handle.

16. The bath brush of claim 11 further comprises a handle grip for easy grasping of handle.